Google has revealed a prototype of its latest car - and this one doesn't even have a steering wheel or pedals, CNN reports. The car will only have a stop and go button. For the past four years, Google has been working on self-driving cars with a mechanism to return control of the steering wheel to the driver in case of emergency. But Google’s brightest minds now say they can’t make that handoff work anytime soon.
Their answer? Take the driver completely out of the driving. The vehicle looks a bit like the ultracompact Fiat 500 or the Mercedes-Benz Smart car if you take out the steering wheel, gas pedal, brake and gear shift. Unlike Google's previous self-driving vehicles, which have been based on conventional cars adapted to navigate around without a driver, this model has been designed from scratch. "They won't have a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal... because they don't need them," Google said in a statement. The car can carry two passengers and has a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour. Google says the car's most important feature is its safety. The driver has...
Google car: no steering wheel, no brakes
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Honda's Mad Mower Now Officially World's Fastest
By Andrei Nedelea: Honda has already announced itself as the builder of the world’s fastest lawn mower, a title, which up until this point, had not been official. Now it is, having been confirmed by a representative of Guinness, who watched the proceedings at the all important high speed run, where the famous mower managed to achieve an average speed of 187.60 km/h or 116.57 mph, the highest ever recorded for a vehicle of its type. It smashed the previous record by quite a large margin: 45 km/h or 28 mph. The speed was measured over a 100-meter speed trap and the above number consists of the average of two runs, in both directions, just like at the Bonneville Salt Flats. All of this was made possible by fitting a 1,000 cc V-twin engine that makes 109 hp. The wheels are special too, and they come right off a tarmac-oriented ATV, pushed out for a wide stance by a completely custom suspension system. Source: Carscoop...
Want to 3D Print the NSX Concept and Other Honda Studies?
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Even though it will probably take a while (but not as long as you may think) for 3D Printers to become a common household item, automakers are preparing themselves for this technological breakthrough. After Porsche, Honda has also shared three-dimensional (3D) data for exterior designs of some of its models. In the Japanese automaker's case, it is providing 3D Print info for five concepts from the past, including the 2013 NSX sports coupe, the 2007 Puyo, the 2003 Kiwami Fuel-Cell study, the 1999 Fuya-Jo kei car and the 1994 FSR/ Honda claims that the data, which is offered for free under a Creative Commons license, allows users to easily replicate the concept studies using a household 3D printer, which turns a digital
model into a three-dimensional solid object using successive layers of material laid down in different shapes. The 3D Print initiative is part of a new global branding project that highlights' "Honda's unique approaches and thoughts toward the 'art of manufacturing'", and it follows the "Super ultra daydreams" spot that made its debut at the start of Honda's...
